Thankful Thursday

It's been a difficult couple of weeks. A few weeks ago Evan's bilirubin levels began going up. They rose to slightly above the normal range, but for Evan even that is unusual. We repeated labs only to find that Evan's bilirubin was continuing to rise. The biggest concern was that the elevated bilirubin could be a result of a blockage and would require surgery to clear.

The doctor scheduled an ultrasound. We were blessed to again have the same ultrasound tech who has done all of Evan's ultrasounds here in Albuquerque. She is sweet and patient and knows how row irk with Evan! It's always nice to have a familiar face when in a time of worry. 

Luckily the results came back perfect as showed no concern of blockage. The following week we repeated labs and Evan's bilirubin levels were trending down and his liver function tests were even better than they had been! We will repeat labs again in a few weeks, but with a beautiful ultrasound and labs trending back down it looks like Evan's bilirubin was probably elevated due to a virus or something "normal". We are thankful that Evan is healthy and enjoying life. 

On the other side of life, things have been hard. My great aunt passed away. Although she lived a full life it is always difficult to deal with death. It brings back the reality that my grandparents are getting older and that I don't know how much longer we will have them. I am jus thankful that Evan has had an opportunity to meet them all! 

Then came this Monday when there was a helicopter crash in Okinawa. The crew were all co workers of my husband, but we still don't know who specifically since there has been a delay in releasing that information. It's always difficult when there is an incident like this in the rescue community. Even more so when someone dies. Unfortunately, one of crew members did not make it out of the helicopter and died in the crash. It brings up a lot of questions and concerns. This was only a training mission. You like to think that the danger lies only when they are in front of the enemy, but that's not true. The reality of the dangers of the job are always in the back of our minds, but at a time like this the thought is brought back to the forefront. It is a sad time in the rescue community, but it is also a reminder to never take a moment for grated. Hug a little tighter, kiss a little longer, and just enjoy every moment because you never know when it will be your last. I am thankful for every moment we have as a family! 

This is a post from August 8 which was never published, but should have been. 

Wonderful Wednesday!

Today is a wonderful Wednesday! The day started off with a blood draw followed by a play date with Evan's best friend, Emily! Those two just love spending time together and ask about each other all the time. Of course it's also wonderful that I am good friends with Emily's mom as well. :) It makes for a wonderful time for moms and kids to have a play date where everyone enjoys being together!

What makes today even more wonderful, though, is that Evan's labs look beautiful! We had a little scare about a month ago when Evan's bilirubin levels came back elevated two lab draws in a row. The doctor ordered an ultrasound to check and make sure that the bilirubin was flowing correctly. Shortly after the ultrasound we learned that the ultrasound looked perfect and Evan's bilirubin was going back down.

Today's labs so PERFECT labs! :) All numbers are well within the normal range and Evan's liver is happy! :) Evan is currently 17 months post transplant and has only had 1 inpatient stay at the hospital since transplant. We've had a few visits to urgent care of the ER, but all turned out to be "normal kid stuff" like ear infections. Even his 1 inpatient visit was just a virus, but needed close monitoring to make sure his prograf level stayed down and his liver stayed happy.

Evan is one blessed little boy and we are thankful every day for his donor and donor family! :)